A crowd gathers on a bridge overlooking the Imatrankoski Rapids, one of the Nordic country’s best-known natural attractions, in the eastern Finnish town of Imatra.
Every day at the same time, the almost hundred-year-old dam of the river is opened and water rushes under the bridge to the sounds of music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
It is a popular attraction especially for Russian tourists. Even Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, visited Imatrankoski in 1772.
But since late July, the city of Imatra has started the show by playing Ukraine’s national anthem to protest the Russian invasion.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer eastern border with Russia, is also preparing to restrict tourist visas for Russians.
“It’s bad for Russians who love Finland,” says Mark Kosykh, a 44-year-old Russian tourist who came with his family to see the rapids.
“But we understand the Finnish government,” he says.
Kosykh emphasizes that there are Russians who don’t like war.
“Not all Russians are for Putin. The government and everyone has to understand that.”
– relationship changed –
Also in the nearby town of Lappeenranta, the Ukrainian national anthem is played every night above the town hall, overlooking shopping malls popular with Russian tourists.
“The aim is to show strong support for Ukraine and to condemn aggressive war,” Lappeenranta Mayor Kimmo Jarva told AFP.
Many Russians visit Lappeenranta to shop for clothes and cosmetics, for example, and Russian license plates can be seen on many cars.
But tourism from its eastern neighbor has caused dissatisfaction in Finland over the war in Ukraine.
A poll released last week by Finnish public broadcaster Yle found that 58 percent of Finns support restricting Russian tourist visas.
“In my opinion, they should be very severely restricted. I see no other way to make Russian politicians think,” says Antero Ahtiainen, 57, from Lappeenranta.
Although he has nothing against individual tourists, Ahtiainen says his relationship with Russians has changed.
– planning restrictions –
Spurred on by growing discontent, Finland’s foreign minister unveiled a plan last week to limit tourist visas for Russians.
The Nordic country remains Russia’s only EU neighbor with no tourist visa restrictions for Russian citizens.
With flights from Russia to the EU grounded, Finland has become a transit country for many Russians looking to travel further to Europe.
“Many saw it as a circumvention of the sanctions regime,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told the AFP news agency.
Although the Schengen regime and Finnish laws do not allow a total ban on visas based on nationality, Finland can reduce the number of visas issued based on category, Haavisto noted.
“The tourism category can be limited in terms of the number of visas that can be applied for in a day,” Haavisto said.
Haavisto said he believes the final decision to accept the plan could be made by the end of the month.
– border relations –
Although many Finns are now dissatisfied with Russian visitors, people on both sides of the border region traditionally lived in close contact with each other.
“In Saint Petersburg, many people have Finnish grandpas and grandmothers, like my wife,” says Kosykh, adding that he visits Finland every year.
Russian tourists are also an important source of income for many Finnish border towns.
After Russia lifted Covid travel restrictions on July 15, the number of Russian tourists traveling to Finland has risen steadily.
While the numbers are still well below pre-Covid levels, there were more than 230,000 border crossings in July – up from June’s 125,000.
“Of course, if Russian tourists don’t come here, companies will lose revenue, which is unfortunate,” says Jarva.
But Jarva believes there is strong support for limiting Russian tourist visas.
“We have to make a choice. We stand strongly behind Ukraine.”
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